The Nebuta Lantern Festival in Aomori, Japan

Aomori is often seen as little more than a stop along the Shinkansen route between Tokyo or Sendai on Honshu and Hakodate on Hokkaido. In truth, however, the city hosts one of the three largest festivals in the Tohoku region: the Nebuta Festival, a parade of enormous lantern floats that fills the streets.

Each Nebuta float is built from a wire-and-string frame covered in paper and lit from within, depicting scenes from legend, folklore, kabuki theatre, history, or even famous figures. Including the carts used to carry them, these floats can stretch up to 9 metres wide, 7 metres long and 5 metres tall, making for a truly spectacular procession.

Each float is accompanied by a group called Senzumochi; Hayashikata musicians playing taiko drums, flutes, and cymbals to guide the team pulling the float along with lively energy. Hundreds of dancers known as Haneto also join the parade, and visitors are welcome to take part, as long as they wear the traditional Haneto costume throughout. After the parade, a roughly two-hour fireworks display lights up the riverside.

The Nebuta Festival takes place every year from August 2 to 7. but don’t worry if you miss it: the beauty of these giant lanterns can still be admired year-round at the Nebuta Museum, opposite JR Aomori Station.

Getting there: Fly to Tokyo with THAI, then continue by Shinkansen to Aomori. Click here